@rhinestonecanuck.bsky.social:
I stand with Esther Hwang.
Comments to Ms. Hwang’s post, included below, ESTHER HWANG, in her own words:
Amy Adams:
This entire situation is all too believable – the predatory behavior (complete with grooming and blurring of boundaries).
But the systematic shutting down by the VSO – that’s absolutely maddening.
Bravo, Esther, for your courage and methodical clarity.
I’m sorry so many people let you down.
Lily:
I’m really sorry that you have to go through these traumas. It is incredibly brave and resilient for you to speak up, especially given your difficult financial situation and emotional struggles. What the VSO did to you is unacceptable. I hope you will receive the justice you deserve.
ליאורה:
As I read these stories I am constantly amazed at the resources spent by the orchestras etc. on protecting abusers and brazenly re-victimizing the brave women (mostly women) who have come forward at incredible personal cost. Spend that money on doing something right, for once, orchestra du jour. On a personal note: I’m conflicted about utilizing my season tickets as an audience member. It all feels gross. I feel like classical music has what appears to be a systemic child predator grooming problem (even if the “reportable” abuse doesn’t happen until the impressionable and often economically vulnerable musician is an adult) and I’m disturbed. Esther: you are a hero and I completely applaud you. Vancouver symphony: you know you’re epically wrong/reprehensible. Fix this.
ovey yeung:
Thank you for sharing this. It is incredibly powerful, and also deeply heavy to read. I am so grateful that you chose to speak with this level of honesty and detail. I can only imagine how long and lonely this journey must have felt at times, even with people standing beside you.
Doing anything legal in Canada when you are the victim, is terrible, abusive, wipes out your soul and savings, and intentionally so. Our rapist-protecting legal and judicial industry was intentionally created to serve the patriachy, the rich, and rape religions, notably christian, especially catholic. It’s a vicious unfair unjust creepy journey.
It has taken me years to even name parts of my own experience, let alone speak about them openly. Reading your story, and the care you took in telling it, reminds me how much courage it takes to put words to things many of us were taught to carry quietly. By doing so, you are advocating not just for yourself, but for those of us who have not yet been able to speak, myself included.
I also want to acknowledge your family. Their willingness to be vulnerable alongside you matters. I have often wrestled with what sharing my own story might mean for my family and for the people around me. Seeing that care, honesty, and shared courage reflected here is deeply meaningful.
Thank you for using your voice, and for creating space for others to find theirs, in their own time. <3 Always available to connect with you anytime!
Scheherazade:
Esther, thank you for breaking the NDA forced on you. Know that your brave action in defying the gag order is actually more powerful than not signing one at all. Thank you for taking back your voice
Amanda:
I believe you Esther, and I support you. I’m so thankful to you and proud of you for sharing your story. I’m so sorry this happened to you, you deserve so much better
Sibelius Violin Concerto:
I’m so sorry you went through this. What you’ve shared is shocking and deeply upsetting, and I want you to know that I believe you.
It takes enormous courage to speak out, especially in an environment that so often discourages honesty and accountability.
Beyond the criminal nature of what happened to you, your experience also exposes something many people outside the industry never see: how deeply unhealthy the ecosystem of symphony orchestras can be. The power imbalances and internal politics, the cliques, gossip, heavy drinking, and emotionally immature behaviour that can dominate these spaces are astonishing. Ticket buyers and the general public would be shocked to know what was really going on behind the scenes.Boycott! Boycott! Boycott! Boycotts work, well
While not every story involves sexual assault, instances of bullying and abuse of power are disturbingly common, and far too many people have similar experiences that never see the light of day.
Thank you for speaking up to illuminate these realities that need to be addressed in the symphonic music industry.
John Leo:
Thank you Esther for sharing all this–it is indeed extremely brave, and also very important. I was fortunate to know Blair Tindall when she was still alive, and her book (not the Amazon series, which was completely different) should be required reading for all musicians. It is very sad that this bad behavior by those in power persists, and I fear it will continue to do so.Rape is rewarded and thus deeply ingrained in selfish Homo naziens, and is one reason I find our species inhumane and despicable. Another is the relentless greed to make too many babies and destroy the ability of earth to sustain our lives, and those of other speciesIt seems it is only through the self-sacrifice of the victims coming forward that there is any hope for progress to be made, and I do think your efforts will help and hopefully encourage others to report similar abuse.
It was particularly interesting to read the report of the “independent” investigator, so clearly full of logical holes and manipulated by the orchestra into presenting the story they wanted to tell. These reports, and all the information you’ve provided, need to be made public going forward, and I hope your efforts will be a catalyst for further laws protecting victims from NDAs.
My best wishes to you going forward.
cath:
One of Cosby’s twin, I would check his children if they are being ab*sed as well or being groomed for a future predatory incident like this? Never too late to teach your kids the word g’rape’ prior to sending them to any public setting (hell , even at home!)
VSO faces backlash after legal threat against violinist who spoke out about alleged retaliation by Robyn Doolittle, Dec 26, 2025
The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra has sent a cease and desist letter to a violinist who publicly accused the organization of retaliating against her for filing a sexual-assault complaint against one of its senior members.Pffft. I believe Ms. Hwang, not any official at VSO. Any one, any court, any business that forces a gag on a victim of rape/sexual assault is not trustworthy, they are abuse-enabling misogynistic fuckers.
The musician, Esther Hwang, received the legal demand last week, a day after the Globe and Mail published a story about her complaint. In speaking publicly, Ms. Hwang, 30, violated a confidentiality agreement that she had signed in 2019 with the orchestra.
The VSO denies that there was any retaliation, and has said it treated Ms. Hwang’s allegations seriously.
News of the orchestra’s legal threat has triggered significant backlash within the classical music community.A committee representing the full-time members of the VSO issued a public statement in support of Ms. Hwang. The musicians praised her for speaking out against what they called the “unethical and immoral” use of confidentiality agreements in instances of alleged sexual violence.thankyou for your integrity and courage. The world needs to do this everywhere, notably in politics and rape religions
Baltimore-based oboist Katherine Needleman, an influential voice on instances of alleged sexual harassment and misconduct within classical music, wrote about Ms. Hwang on her Substack page. Ms. Needleman has since created a petition demanding that the VSO confirm it will not take further legal action against Ms. Hwang and commit to ending its use and enforcementof confidentiality agreements, often referred to as non-disclosure agreements or NDAs, in instances of alleged harassment, discrimination, sexual misconduct, or abuse.
From the archives | Opinion: Regaining my voice: How non-disclosure agreements are used to silence
“I do everything I can to support all of these women who do such a difficult thing. Like Esther – she’s doing this to improve our industry, our very backward industry,” Ms. Needleman said in an interview. Katherine Needlemanvery backward industry in our terribly backward misogynistic, sex-rotted world
A lawyer representing the VSO sent Ms. Hwang the cease and desist on December 18, a day after the story appeared in The Globe. The two-page document refers to the Globe article as well as an e-mail that Ms. Hwang sent to musicians of the VSO after the story was published, with further details about the alleged incident and accusation of professional retaliation.
“The VSO is prepared to seek to recover all damages arising from your breaches, including reputational and consequential losses, in any legal proceedings commenced to enforce its rights,” the letter says.
In a statement to the Globe, VSO president and chief executive officer Angela Elster said that the organization decided to send the demand “because specific individuals currently employed by the VSO are publicly identified in connection with unproven allegations.”The fucker who abused Ms Hwang ought to be fired, not protected you douche!
Ms. Elster, who was appointed CEO in 2020, said that the VSO is using the discussion to look for ways to improve.Ms. Elster is lying bully. If you want any credibility and to improve VSO’s behaviours, stop revictimizing and threatening the victim, that’s fucking obvious. FFS!
“Should allegations like these ones be brought forward in the future, the VSO would apply a modern lens to them and follow current best practices and legal requirements as we always have,” she said. “These are serious and painful issues, and we understand why they resonate so deeply.”The law never serves the victims of rape/sexual assault, it only serves the catholic raping church and other raping religions, and the patriarchy. Take a look around the fucking rape-friendly world! Your behaviours, threats, and the VSO’s perfectly march in tune with the judicial-legal industry serving rapists.
Ms. Hwang’s story is coming to light at a time of evolving laws around the use of confidentiality agreements.
Such agreements are often – and uncontroversiallybull shit! many times in business and severe harms done by polluters like those in the oil and gas industry, frac industry, coal, PFAS, glyphosate, etc, use them too, to great harm to the public interest– used in business settings to protect trade secrets. Correction! Businesses, the rich and polluters misuse and abuse trade secrets to force gag on innocent poisoning and or harmed peopleBut the use of them in instances of alleged criminality or discrimination has raised legal and ethical questions.Needs to be the same in all business practices too. No oil company ought to be legally allowed to force their young workers to sign gag orders just to get a job, gags that include the company owning the workers’ thoughts, brains, inventions – even those off duty, and that have nothing to do with the oil and gas industry.
Many American states have passed laws restricting their use in certain instances, such as in cases of alleged discrimination, abuse or sexual misconduct. In Canada, Prince Edward Island became the first jurisdiction to pass similar legislation in 2021, and Ontario has also since enacted a law restricting the ways universities can deploy NDAs in instances of alleged sexual impropriety. The Senate is now considering such a law, and the issue is also under review in British Columbia.
Critics of the use of these agreements in cases of alleged abuse say complainants sometimes sign them under duress, and in doing so give organizations leeway to avoid reckoning with internal problems.
But there is also some reluctance to restrict the agreements, because the justice system has historically struggled to deal with sexual assault and harassment cases.Ya, because rape is common in Homo naziens, too many politicians are abusers and or rapists of women and or girls, and they appoint too many of their like behaving legal pals to the bench, to serve the raping Patriarchy and raping religions. The judicial-legal industry is the main rapist protecting, victim revictimizing PROBLEM! For some complainants, the bestJFC the Globe and Mail is shit! The worst way forward is securing a settlement with compensation. In these instances, one of the best points of leverage is a promise of silence.BULLSHIT! That’s wrong. It’s always wrong – because, it lets the rapist rape again and again and again.
Ms. Hwang, for her part, said she never wanted to sign her confidentiality agreement. But she alleges the VSO made it clear that she would need to agree to the NDA if she wanted to continue working at the orchestra. (The VSO says that because of the confidentiality agreement, it cannot comment on this allegation. and that is one of the main reasons fucking Abusers like the VSO ought not be allowed to gag victims! The truth needs to be public about organizations abusing victims. Always! Especially fucking powerful orgs. The organization noted that Ms. Hwang was represented by experienced legal counsel during the negotiationsSO WHAT!? Canada’s judicial-legal industry is a vile misogynist rapist-infested shit self-regulated industry.)
Opinion: We must expand our understanding of what fear can look like for sexual-assault victims
At the time, Ms. Hwang was working as an extra violinist, essentially a freelancer. After attending the Juilliard School, she was offered the position in early 2017 and for two years was called to work nearly every week. But in March, 2019, Ms. Hwang filed a complaint with the VSO, alleging that she had been sexually assaulted by a senior member of the orchestra. In August, the parties signed a settlement that included the confidentiality agreement.
In exchange for about $7,100 – mostly to reimburse counselling expenses FUCKING INSULTING PEANUTS!– and an assurance that the accused member would depart the orchestra, Ms. Hwang agreed to give up her right to speak about what had happened.
Within weeks, Ms. Hwang says the VSO began reducing her hours and offering her diminished roles. In my view, VSO broke the agreement first! They ought to be sued into the sewer. But, trouble is, our judges have a thing for rapists and rape enablers, and our legal-judicial industry is intentionally way too expensive and slow and abusive for ordinary CanadiansBy early 2020, she said, they stopped calling altogether. Extra violinists have no job security.
Ms. Hwang later filed a second complaint alleging that the VSO had professionally retaliated against her. The orchestra hired Southern Butler Price LLP to investigate and, in May, 2025, the firm concluded that Ms. Hwang’s allegation was not substantiated.Lawyers! What the fuck corruption is this VSO game!? Lawyers work in a rape klan in Canada. Not trustworthy! And it’s conflict of interest to hire a fucking law firm to investigate a gag order breach – they make the most and gain the most, from gag orders/NDAs! Gags are a massive part of a law firm’s profit-raping and a lawyer’s living!
Ms. Hwang told The Globe that, in addition to losing her job, one of the most painful parts of the experience was the day she learned a rumour had been circulating among Vancouver musicians that she had had a consensual affair with the accused member, and that this was why they were both no longer working for the VSO.VSO is nasty revictimizer and bully! Boycott the fuckers.
Ms. Hwang said that in that moment she decided to violate the NDA in order to set the record straight.
She said she is speaking out now to lend her voice to the movement to restrict the use of these agreements.This is courage and integrity. Brava Ms. Hwang!
Opinion: #MeToo changed our culture, but it couldn’t change our courts
“The VSO has been trying to use the NDA as a tool for intimidation, to silence me, and the cease and desist is just a clear example of that. And I do not feel intimidated. I am not intimidated,” she said.
Ms. Needleman, who is the principal oboist at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, said that classical music is due for a reckoning. The community has been slow to change, even after the #MeToo movement, she said.The whole rape lusty world is due for a reckoning, most of all, the legal-judicial characters, religions and politicians that protect and enable rapists
She said there are many reasons for this, including poor workplace protections for contract workers, a scarcity mindset for limited jobs, and a culture rooted in the past.
“I think maybe the first element is that we study the works of ancient dead white men like they are gods. Bach, Mozart, Schumann, Beethoven,” she said. “We are really stuck in the past and these men, who are actually just men, can kind of do no wrong.”
This reverence for top talent continues to permeate modern orchestras, she said,and those who try to disrupt the system can be punished. Ms. Needleman noted that since she has started speaking out on misogyny and sexual misconduct in classical music – in October, the Washington Post called her classical music’s #MeToo vigilante – she has stopped being invited to perform in some spaces. However, because she is a tenured member of the BSO, she can’t easily befired.
“I think it’s actually more of a problem in our industry than others,” she said.
***
ESTHER HWANG, in her own words by Esther Hwang, Dec 19, 2025, Katherine Needleman Oboist’s Substack
Edited to add: please sign and share the petition here.
This is the letter I wrote to Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO) musicians, which I sent on the day The Globe and Mail article was published. At the time, I wasn’t sure whether I wanted the letter to be made public.
However, yesterday, VSO’s lawyer (Jake Cabott) sent me a cease-and-desist letter (attachment #1) threatening to sue me for breaching my NDA and speaking out. Their letter made me realize how important it is to share this publicly. No organization should be allowed to silence a victim of sexual assault, retaliate against them, and then threaten to sue them for speaking out.
I have redacted the rapist’s name. My focus is on the institution and its systemic failures, not on the individual. The public should know that I have reported this matter to the police.
The VSO is a powerful institution and the only major orchestra in British Columbia. This imbalance of power matters. What they are doing is not acceptable. They must change.
I am calling for:
- The VSO to publicly confirm that they will not take any steps to enforce the NDA against me, or any other person that they have made sign an NDA.
- The VSO to publicly commit to never using NDAs again.
Please read my letter below:
Dear VSO musicians,
Please do not share this email, except with your spouse or partner, without asking me first.
This email describes sexual assaults and may be distressing to some.
My name is Esther Hwang. I used to be a violin extra with the VSO. Today, the Globe and Mail published an article about me and the VSO, which you can read here: https://archive.is/ydX7Z
I grew up in Vancouver, and the VSO has been a part of my life for a long time. I first performed with the VSO as a child soloist at the Lovers’ Ball when I was 9. I soloed with the VSO on several further occasions until age 19. A number of VSO musicians have been my teachers, including the current and former concertmasters, and many VSO musicians have known me since I was a child. I even used to work in the VSO library.
In 2017 and 2018, during my employment as a violin extra at the VSO, I was raped and sexually assaulted by (name redacted). He was one of my former violin teachers at the Vancouver Academy of Music. He has known me since I was 15. He was the principal second of the VSO and is a married father of two.
It is important for me to share my story because I do not want anyone else in this orchestra to experience what I went through. Speaking up is difficult, but I hope that by sharing my experience, it can bring awareness and meaningful change. My intention is to contribute to a safer and healthier culture within the VSO – one where power imbalances are recognized and prevented from causing harm, and where the administration responds to these situations with care and accountability. This is my story.
In 2017, I had to leave Juilliard after my first year due to my family’s financial situation. When I returned to Vancouver, Nicholas Wright, also one of my former teachers at VAM, invited me to play as an extra with the VSO. He told me I could play in every concert.
On June 12, 2017, two weeks into my work with the VSO, (name redacted) offered me a ride home after the season finale party. It was the first time I had ever been in a car with him. I was wearing a dress, and while he was talking, he casually placed his hand on my bare thigh. I didn’t know how to react. I was confused. When I got home, I asked my younger sister if it seemed strange. She told me not to worry because (name redacted) was married, had children, and had known me since I was young as my former teacher.
After that, (name redacted) regularly drove me home after VSO engagements. I didn’t have a car or a driver’s licence, and since he knew my parents and family, it quickly became normal for him to drive me.
Nick and (name redacted) also frequently took me out for coffee, lunch, and drinks during and after VSO events. They drank heavily and encouraged me to drink as well. Over time, that drinking culture became normalized for me.Hideous grooming.
On July 15, 2017, the VSO held a farewell party for the personnel manager, Deanne. I hung out with Nick and (name redacted) throughout the event and drank under their influence. By the end of the night, I was very drunk, and (name redacted) offered to take me home in a cab. I have very little recollection of the ride home. I woke up the next day with dried vomit in my hair. (name redacted) messaged me to check in, and I told him that “my memory is kind of a blur”.
On November 13, 2017, (name redacted) raped me. I was 22. It happened at his house, after a VSO show, at a party with other VSO musicians. He poured me many glasses of hard alcohol, and I became blackout drunk.
I woke up the next morning when (name redacted) ran into the room, telling me to put on my pants and underwear and that I had to leave because his wife was coming home. (He had scheduled the party on a night that his wife was out of town.) I didn’t know where I was or how I got there. It was his children’s playroom. I was lying on an ottoman, uncovered and naked from the waist down. My pants and underwear were on the floor.
At home, in the shower, fragments of memory returned. Even though the water was hot, I was shivering. The first memory was of lying on my back in a dark room, with his penis inside me. I remember seeing the washroom light behind him. I was raped by (name redacted), but I was not able to recognize what had happened to me.
A few days later, after a VSO concert, (name redacted) drove me home and apologized. He said, “You didn’t deserve that.” I told him I didn’t remember much and that we should just move on. Immediately after, he asked if I remembered what had happened during the cab ride home after Deanne’s farewell party. I told him I didn’t remember. Then he said that during the cab ride I had tried to kiss him and said “I’m so horny.” When I heard this, I felt horrified. It seemed as though he was using that as an excuse for what he did four months later. It felt like he was placing the blame on me.
I want to clarify: I have absolutely no memory of this, and I do not know if it’s true. What I do know is that I never wanted to have sex with (name redacted). To me, (name redacted) was a trusted adult and mentor, someone with a wife and kids. He was like an uncle to me.
As I mentioned before, I was not able to recognize what had happened to me. To protect myself, I compartmentalized and disassociated from the event. I tried to continue with my life and pretend everything was okay. I remained friends with him and continued to accept rides home. I acted cheerful and happy. Everything appeared “normal”, which meant hanging out with (name redacted) and Nick for coffee and lunch during VSO engagements, going out for drinks occasionally, and getting driven home by (name redacted).
About a week after the rape, (name redacted) called me in the evening and said something like: “I can’t stop thinking about that night. I have so many sexual fantasies.” I was disturbed and didn’t know what to say. I didn’t respond. The next day he sent me a text saying: “Hey, I hope didn’t upset you with that phone call. A million sorries if I did. I’m just not thinking straight these days…” I didn’t respond.
For the next few months, during these car rides, (name redacted) began telling me he was suicidal. He said that if his wife or children ever found out what he had done, he would kill himself. He joked about women having acid thrown in their faces. He told me he had been in a gang and that the scar on his face came from a knife fight. He said he was worried I had given him AIDS and insisted I get tested, so I did.
During two of these rides home, (name redacted) sexually assaulted me again. He groped my crotch and breasts and forcibly kissed me. Each time, I escaped by saying I needed to vomit as an excuse to get out of the car.
If you have never experienced sexual assault, it might be hard to understand how victims behave afterward. It took me years of counselling to understand my own reactions. I was not the “perfect victim.” After the rape and sexual assaults, I remained friends with (name redacted). He kept giving me rides home. We continued to get meals and drinks after rehearsals and concerts. I even bought him a birthday present. From the outside, it looked like nothing bad had happened.
The truth is, I had no framework to understand what had been done to me. My parents are immigrants and never taught me the language or concepts of sexual assault. (name redacted) was my former teacher and a current superior at work. He knew my family. In my mind, he was a trusted adult. Each time something traumatic happened, I compartmentalized and dissociated just to survive. I tried to continue with my life and act cheerful. But none of this means I ever consented to anything. (name redacted) took advantage of me. (name redacted) hurt me. And he knew he was getting away with it. As my former teacher, a father of two, and my superior at work, he had the responsibility to be better, and he abused that power.
During this time, I met my boyfriend (now my husband), Cameron. A few months after we started going out I told him about what had happened. He immediately identified it as rape and sexual assault. Coming to terms with it was very tough. It felt like my world was shattered.
Cameron and my father confronted (name redacted). He did not deny the assaults, but claimed it “wasn’t rape” because – and this is an exact quote – “at no point did she not consent.” Not saying no is not consent. There is no such thing as implied consent. Consent requires free, clear, present agreement. I did not choose this. I did not consent to having sex with (name redacted), or to any of his assaults.
After the confrontation, (name redacted) texted me apologizing. He wrote, “It was never my intention to take advantage of you,” and “please give me a chance to be a good father. My children are innocent in all this… they are merely caught up in my stupidity.” He was using his children to guilt me into silence so he could avoid the personal, professional, and criminal consequences of his own actions. Later, when he faced the prospect of accountability, he reversed his position and claimed (according to a letter from the VSO’s lawyer) that “the sexual interactions between him and your client were welcome and completely consensual”.
I cut off all contact with (name redacted), but working at the VSO while he remained there was traumatic. In March 2019, I found the courage to hire a lawyer and file a complaint.
I asked for: (name redacted) to be removed from VSO, compensation for legal fees, compensation for injury to dignity of $25,000, compensation for counselling expenses, better policy for reporting and investigating complaints of sexual harassment in the workplace, and mandatory sexual harassment training.Reasonable, valid, fair, and just requests. I my view, the injury to dignity and his grooming, is worth $millions.
The response from VSO was another trauma of its own. Their letter to me was despicable and full of victim-shaming (see attachment #2). I hope you read the whole letter, but see these parts in particular:
“To say we were disappointed and dismayed at the unrealistic demands contained in the Letter would be an understatement. It was our understanding that your client’s primary objective was to continue working at the VSO in circumstances in which (name redacted) was no longer an employee. However, the subtext of the Letter indicates that your client may instead be more concerned with monetary compensation.”
And:
“(Name redacted) was not in a position of power in relation to your client.”
(name redacted) absolutely held power over me: he was the principal second, a close friend of the concertmaster, my former teacher, sixteen years older, far larger, aware of my financial struggles, and someone I depended on for transportation.
Eventually, we reached a settlement. (name redacted) would be terminated, and the VSO would pay for some of my counselling expenses and missed work (this totalled $7,138.34; they did not pay for my legal fees which totalled $27,956.73). But they required me to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), silencing me for life. I was strongly opposed to this, and wrote to my lawyer:
“I have felt so powerless throughout this whole process, and to be silenced by the VSO would only make this worse. It has been extremely difficult for me to come forward and to process what has happened to me. The VSO telling me that I can’t speak about this would re-traumatize me.”
I was under extreme psychological and financial stress at the time. My father had gone bankrupt the previous year, and my income from the VSO made me the highest earner in our family. My mother had returned to Korea and was essentially no longer part of our lives. My sister had taken a year off from UBC so she could earn money working as a waitress. My dad and older brother were earning minimum wage. My younger brother was in Grade 10. I paid for most of our rent. Under this pressure, I signed the settlement and NDA simply so I could continue working with the VSO.
The use of NDAs to silence victims is wrong. It causes enormous harm to survivors, protects perpetrators, and enables future abuse. Many US states have banned these types of NDAs. Texas recently passed legislation banning them going forward and retroactively, with unanimous support from every Republican and Democrat in the House and Senate. The BC Branch of the Canadian Bar Association has called on the BC government to prohibit NDAs related to claims of harassment and discrimination.
For the VSO to impose an NDA on me, and then refuse to release me from it, is indefensible. The administration and board members who have been involved in this have had plenty of time to think about it, and their shameful and cowardly response is completely unacceptable.
I have spoken with Julie Macfarlane, a co-founder of the “Can’t Buy My Silence” campaign which is advocating to ban the misuse of NDAs. I plan to do everything I can to support this campaign to have legislation passed in British Columbia and the rest of Canada.
Prior to the settlement, I was called for every single concert for more than two full years. I have an email from Aaron McDonald (the personnel manager at the time) from before I filed my complaint in which he confirmed that another extra and I were first on the extra list. He wrote: “You 2 are still the first calls when we need extra violinists, just wanted to make that clear.” In the months after the settlement, I was offered less and less work until I was offered no work at all (see the enclosed timeline showing the decrease in my call rate – attachment #3). I have not been asked to play with the VSO since March 2020. It seemed obvious to me that this was related to my complaint.It is to me too.
For years, I suffered in silence and shame. No one in the orchestra reached out. No one asked me what had happened. No one asked if I was okay.
I am incredibly disappointed in Nick. He was my former teacher and someone I trusted as a mentor. He used to talk and hang out with me regularly. But after I filed my complaint, he cut me off. He has not spoken to me in more than six years. I emailed him in November 2024 asking to meet. He ignored my first message, and responded to my follow-up only to say, “Thanks for your email. Sorry but my schedule is totally full at the moment.” I then offered to meet at any time and place convenient for him, but he did not reply. Nick, my invitation still stands.
I believe that Nick has failed in his responsibilities as an educator, mentor, and leader. I also believe that his refusal to speak to me has contributed to the culture of silence that allows abuse to continue.Is Nick a rapist too? Or does he, like too many men, think (thanks to misogynistic religion) that men have the right to rape kids and women, and that reporting rape is wrong?
In March 2024, someone in the Vancouver music community told me they heard a rumour about me and the VSO. I met with them and they said the rumour was that I had an affair with (name redacted), and because of the affair, he was fired and I was fired. I was devastated and heartbroken.
I decided to break my NDA and started speaking to people in the Vancouver music community about what happened to me. Eight of the people I spoke to had heard the rumours. Collectively, they named ten different sources of where they heard the rumours from. It’s clear the rumours have spread very widely.
I decided I had to do something.
On April 24, 2024, I met with Paris Simons, one of the VSO “respectful workplace officers.” He was sympathetic during our meeting, but despite numerous follow-ups, he has never provided any substantive response (see attachment #4).
Also in April 2024, I contacted Angela Elster, the VSO president. Her responses were slow, and it took nearly five months to arrange a meetingFUCK! (see attachment #5). On September 10, 2024, I met with Angela and two other VSO representatives (Bill Linwood and Laurel Spencer). I told them about the retaliation – how my call rate had gone from 100% to 0% shortly after I made my complaint. I also told them about the rumours, and I asked to be released from the NDA. I want to be very clear here: I never asked for my job back and I never asked for a single cent. During the meeting, Angela was sympathetic, and said she would look into all the issues I raised. But five weeks later, she sent a short email dismissing everything I had said. She wrote:
“At no time did Nick Wright, Aaron McDonald nor Laurel Spencer block you from auditioning for a position with the VSO or as an extra. You are most welcome to audition. [I never claimed that I was blocked from auditioning – I claimed that my call rate had dropped from 100% to 0% a few months after I made my complaint.]
There is no evidence of rumours about you at the VSO, in fact Aaron was totally unaware. [I told her that I had spoken to multiple people who had heard the rumours.]
I met with a lawyer to address the NDA – the VSS will not drop the NDA. The lawyer confirmed the VSS took immediate appropriate action, and this case is now closed.”
I then contacted the VSO board, and met with David Garofalo (Chairman), Manijeh Colabella (Co-Chair of HR), Angela Elster, and Shelley-Mae Mitchell (VSO’s lawyer who wrote the victim-shaming letter six years ago). In my experience, the nastiest misogynists are women, and often are eager rape-enablers. The only sane reason for that, which I can think of, is religion blaming everything bad on women (and thus, the most important reason religion was created – to enable rape of women and kids and con the masses into believing women and girls deserve being raped to keep raping going strong, century after century).I raised the same issues as at the previous meeting.
The meeting was horrendous, but in the end, they agreed to hire an investigator to look into the retaliation. Note that the investigation firm was hired and paid by the VSO.
The investigator interviewed me onceFucking wowza disgusting, but typical douche fucking law firm. Five months later, the investigator submitted a report to the VSO agreeing with the VSO that there was no retaliation (see attachment #6).
I wrote a letter to the board describing numerous flaws in the report (see attachment #7). They wrote back to say that the case is closed and they will not address any of the items in my letter (see attachment #8).
You, as musicians in the VSO, understand far better than the board and the investigator how extras are selected. I hope you understand why I would think that going from the top of the extra list for over two years to not being on the extra list at all was related to the fact that I had made the complaint.
All I asked for from the VSO was to properly look into the retaliation, release me from the NDA, and to have better policies so that this will not happen again to anyone else. I did not ask for money. I did not ask for my job back. I spoke up because if I stayed silent, it was telling the VSO they can do this again to someone else. The way VSO handled this is unacceptable. The organization should not be allowed to bury issues to avoid accountability. This culture of silence and intimidation must end. The VSO must do better.
After telling other musicians my story, multiple people told me they had heard the “affair” rumour circulating specifically in the VSO community. I am disappointed in those who participated in spreading this rumour, especially without ever coming to me directly to ask what actually happened. It is hurtful and irresponsible to circulate gossip about something so serious, and it has made me feel let down by colleagues I trusted. Our community is small, and I had hoped for compassion, integrity, and professionalism. Instead, I was met with silence and speculation. This behaviour is wrong, and it caused incredible harm.
There have also been many VSO musicians who have been very supportive and helpful. I truly thank you for that.
I am happy to meet with any of you in person or by phone to discuss my story.
Sincerely,
Esther
Attached documents:
- December 18, 2025 Cease and Desist Letter1
- VSS Response Letter2
- Timeline3
- Email Exchange with Paris4
- Email Exchange with Angela5
- Investigation Summary Report6
- Response to Summary Report7
- Letter from VSS Board8
December 18, 2025 Cease and Desist Letter
This below is a photo Jake Cabott, douche fucker rape enabler, lawyer at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG), typical shit in Canada’s misogynistic legal-judicial industry (the self regulator for lawyers in Ontario fucking licences known convicted pedophiles, giving them protect access to kids, FFS. Our legal industry is a filthy dirty rape industry.
VSS Response Letter
In my view, “reasonable” terms in the legal world is always to abuse and further harm the victim, while dragging out the vicious negotiations to make lawyers lots of money on further harming the victim.
Timeline
Email Exchange with Paris
Email Exchange with Angela
Investigation Summary Report
Response to Summary Report
Letter from VSO Board
Refer also to: